Babysitting
by Kari Rose
Summary: Gimli is left looking after two energetic young hobbits. How will he cope!


A/N. Please review nicely. Thanks xx  
  
Babysitting  
  
"Please, Gandalf" Pippin begged, "We wanna come" Gandalf was planning an adventure. He only wanted Frodo to know about it but Merry and Pippin had overheard him speaking to the hobbit about going to Rivendell. They then had listened to the rest of the plan and they wanted to go too.  
  
"Pleeeaase!" Merry insisted, "We were a big help on the last adventure"  
  
"You were when you weren't trouble making" Gandalf said walking into the sun-set Merry and Pippin ran after him. "Besides only two people can travel with me, Frodo and on Frodo's request, Sam. Even Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli cannot come, well I can't stop Aragorn but he needs to stay in Gondor to prevent war." He turned to the hobbits, "Legolas and Gimli are staying in the Shire for a while, and you can show them around."  
  
"Please Gandalf" Pippin didn't give in, "We'll behave! The mission can't be as difficult or as life threatening as last time can it?" Gandalf did not answer he just carried on walking.  
  
"Come on Pip" Merry turned to Pippin, "We'll try again tomorrow, besides we'll miss supper if we stay out here too long!" they turned and walked back to their holes discussing how to persuade Gandalf to let them go with him on his mission.  
  
The next day Gandalf arrived very early so he, Frodo and Sam could set out on their way without delays but Merry and Pippin were waiting out side Frodo's hole. "Good morning Gandalf" Pippin greeted him cheerfully.  
  
"NO!" Gandalf knew what he was going to ask and had not changed his mind about the answer. "Just Frodo and Sam can come!" Merry and Pippin did not give up and followed them on the journey. After a while he turned to Merry and Pippin who were hiding behind a tree and said: "You fools really think I didn't notice you were following!" He looked angry but an idea came in to his head. "Is an adventure the place for children of around 4 or 5 Mr. Took?" He stared at Pippin from under his bushy eyebrows.  
  
"No, but we're not 4 or 5"  
  
"You certainly act like it" Gandalf raised his staff, "And now you will be" Before anyone could do anything, a flash emitted from the end of the staff. When the smoke cleared all Frodo and Sam could see were two small, round, pink babies: one gurgling and making baby noises and the other sucking his toe. Sam looked at the two children quite surprised of what Gandalf had done.  
  
"Now if you give me one moment I'll return these children to their holes. Gimli and Legolas will take care of them. The spell only last two days by then we will be far away." Gandalf picked up the two baby hobbits and took them to the elf and the dwarf.  
  
Gandalf had just arrived at the hole Legolas and Gimli were staying in when Legolas ran out of the door in such a hurry that Pippin began to cry with fright. "I'm sorry Gandalf. I didn't know you had children" Legolas was confused.  
  
"This is Meriadoc and Peregrin. They will return into themselves in a few days" Gandalf explained, "they're under a spell at the moment" Legolas laughed as Merry pulled at Gandalf's beard. Gandalf asked Legolas if he could baby-sit but got the reply: "I'm sorry Gandalf my father needs me in Mirkwood as soon as possible, Gimli might" with these words the elf sprinted out of sight.  
  
"No, i can not baby-sit for two baby hobbits!" Gimli didn't like the idea that he would have to change nappies of spoon-feed during his stay at the Shire. "Ow" Pippin was now trying to climb his leg. In the end Gimli agreed to do it, or rather had no choice but to.  
  
"Maybe you will learn to love them this age." Gandalf said as he left Gimli alone with the two crazy babies who were now attempting tear down the curtains.  
  
"Merry, let go of that, you too Pippin!" Gimli ran towards them and picked them up. "Gandalf you fool, you could have made them a little older than this" Gimli sat in an arm chair with the kids in his lap. "I'm going to tell you a story about a ring" Said Gimli. "Daddy" Pippin said softly in his baby-voice sticking his thumb in his mouth and curling up as if to go to sleep.  
  
"I am NOT your father Peregrin son of Paladin! I am Gimli son of Gloin and I am a dwarf, you are a hobbit, big difference there." Gimli said to the child, "Take that out of your mouth you don't know where it's been" He said cleaning Pippin's thumb who then put it back in his mouth again. 'Where's Legolas when you need him? Home that's where' He thought to himself and began a story.  
  
"Once, there were two hobbits, Merry and Pippin. They were either very brave or very stupid but they..." He stopped suddenly as Merry screamed. "What's wrong with you now?!"  
  
"Hungry" Merry cried and Pippin began to demand food. Gimli stood up and took them in to the kitchen and cut each of them a slice of cream cake. He sat them each in a chair and continued with his story.  
  
"Right... brave or very stupid but they agreed to go on a mission. They joined the Fellowship of the Ring and..." Pippin was now wiping cream all over Merry and Merry was crying and hitting Pippin with a cushion. "Stop it both of you!" Yelled Gimli. "Oh come here" He picked Merry up and tried to clean him up a little. Pippin then, seeing Merry getting attention, cried out. Gimli wiped a smear of cream from Pippin's mouth and gave him a quick hug to keep him quiet.  
  
"Now can I tell you a story?" Gimli asked the two hobbits now a little irritated.  
  
"No we want to play" squeaked Pippin.  
  
"What do you want to play, how about 'sleeping lions'?" Gimli suggested hoping they would fall asleep while playing.  
  
"No!" cried Merry, "I'm not tired" Gimli sighed. Fear suddenly struck him, Pippin had vanished. He frantically searched around the hole, under tables, behind cushion and curtains, everywhere but his bedroom. "PIPPIN COME OUT WE GIVE UP!" he shouted thinking maybe Pippin was playing a game of 'hide and seek'. Gimli rushed to the bedroom and found him rummaging in his pack and holding his teddy.  
  
"Oi! Get off that" he said taking his teddy from the sticky hand of the child. Pippin began to cry loudly. "O.K. O.K you can have it for a while" Gimli reluctantly handed over the soft brown bear and a smile spread across the young child's face.  
  
"Thirsty!" He heard Merry cry and he ran to fetch a glass of milk for each of the hobbits. Maybe they would sleep after a glass of milk. How wrong was he? Very! After draining their glasses, they began to run around and almost demolishing anything in their path. Gimli tried to stop them, he chased them, he tried to grab them as they passed and he even tried to shout at them but that just made them cry and run faster from him. Eventually he gave up and let them run riot, they would soon get tired. Suddenly he caught sight of a flying hobbit as Pippin jumped off the top of the curtain rail on to the soft arm chair below. He had climbed up the curtain and now Merry was trying to do the same but couldn't quite get grip with the curtain. Gimli ran to Pippin who was laughing so much he nearly fell off the chair. Merry joined in with the giggles and forgot about climbing the curtain. Gimli picked up both hobbits when they had calmed down a little and laid them on his bed.  
  
"Now you too must want to sleep" Gimli said softly to them  
  
"Lully" Pippin yawned and looked at Gimli hopefully.  
  
"I'm not singing a lullaby" Gimli grunted and the two children stared up at him with puppy-dog eyes. He gave in, "O.K" He cleared his throat and began to sing a few verses from a song Frodo had taught him.  
"So the cat on his fiddle played hey-diddle-diddle  
A jig that would wake the dead:  
He squeaked and sawed and quickened the tune,  
While the landlord shook the Man in the Moon:  
It's after three he said"  
  
They still hadn't fallen asleep but they were close to so he missed out a verse and continued.  
"Now quicker the fiddle went deedle-dum-diddle;  
The dog began to roar,  
The cow and the horses stood on their heads;  
The guest all bounded from their beds  
And danced upon the floor."  
  
He paused to check but they were still awake so he sang another two verses.  
  
"With a ping and a pong the fiddle string broke!  
The cow jumped over the Moon,  
The little dog laughed to see such fun,  
And the Saturday dish went off at a run  
With the silver Sunday spoon."  
  
"The round Moon rolled behind the hill,  
As the sun raised up her head.  
She could hardly believe her fiery eyes;  
For though it was day to her surprise  
They all went back to bed!"  
  
The hobbits were now asleep. Gimli covered them with a blanket and left to make himself a cup of tea. He was very tired and had come to the conclusion that he never wanted to baby-sit two young hobbits again! When he had seated himself in front of the fire with a cup of tea and a slice of cake he began to relax. It would be a while before either of them woke so he had some peace and quiet. He had just raised his slice of cake to his mouth when he heard a cry from the bedroom. One of them had woken and it sounded like the more mischievous of the two, Pippin!!!  
  
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Read, review and read again!!!!!!! 


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